Divorce and Family Law in Wembley: Spousal Maintenance vs. Clean Break

Divorce is very taxing on the parties involved—especially when it comes to their finances. The divorce process itself can drain the two parties’ financial resources through legal and other fees.

Another drain on finances is the financial arrangement established after the divorce. Generally, these arrangements fall into two types: spousal maintenance and clean breaks. Both are designed to help the financially weaker spouse, while being fair.

If you’re going through a divorce, you should know how it affects your finances after the divorce. Here’s what you need to know about spousal maintenance and clean breaks.

Clean Break

A clean break is a financial arrangement wherein both partners mutually agree to sever economic ties as soon as possible after the divorce. As the title suggests, clean breaks and spousal maintenance are mutually exclusive. Clean breaks need to be legally guaranteed. If the clean break isn’t traceable to a legal document (a consent order), your ex can file a financial claim against you.

Clean breaks can also be bought out. Essentially, it involves paying your ex to forgo their maintenance claim. The money you pay can be invested, and that investment yields income for the financially-weaker partner. The payment doesn’t have to be made at once; it can be split up into instalments.

Spousal Maintenance

Both couples and courts prefer clean breaks. In England, a court can impose a buyout (of your ex’s maintenance claim) on you if it deems it fit. However, clean breaks aren’t always possible. In these cases, courts defer the post-divorce financial arrangements to spousal maintenance.

Spousal maintenance refers to regular payments made by the financially stronger party to the financially weaker party. There is a host of factors that affect the payment size, how long the payment period is, and whether payments are made at all. The payment size is determined by the ex’s living needs, current income, and future income.

The payment period also depends on the other’s present and future income. For example, if your ex can’t work due to some injury or disability, spousal maintenance can be paid for life. Another factor influencing the payment duration is how long the couple was together. A short partnership (less than five years) involves either no payments or a short payment period. Accordingly, longer relationships involve longer payment periods.

Working through the rigmarole of untangling finances between two partners is difficult. In fact, unless left to an experienced solicitor, the process will be stressful and fraught with mistakes. Instead, let us at Wembley Solicitors handle your divorce-related financial settlements. We offer our services in Wembley, and our solicitors are experienced with and well-versed in family law. We’ll help you see out your divorce and get a favourable financial settlement.